Lost and Found
by felesseta
Summary: Set in the future, Tea Gardiner finally comes home to deal with the tragedies of her past. Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba is searching for answers of his own. TeaxKaiba aka AnzuxKaiba
1. Chapter One

* * *

I own nothing in this universe. 

Lost and Found – Chapter One

"Tea come home." Tea Gardiner reread the last lines of the message. It found her days ago in the deepest part of the jungle. She had no idea how long ago it had been written.

"We miss you." And she missed them – more than she thought imaginable. It was enough to make her chest ache.

"Love, Yugi." She folded the already crumpled note and shoved it back into her permanently damp pocket. The paper was already showing signs of mildew.

The truck bounced on the muddy road, and Tea was jolted back into reality. "It is good to see you smile, Senora. It is rare."

Tea leaned back against the inside of the truck. "There's not a lot to smile about, Rico."

The young guerilla grinned. "But you are wrong here. With you around, we always have something to smile about."

The rest of the goons in the back of the transport laughed with him. Tea turned away. How long had it been since she'd been home? A silly question. She knew the answer down to the second. One day she knew she would have to return, but in the meantime, life had gotten in the way. Poor, sweet Yong had introduced her to a hidden world overpopulated by people desperately needing the skills of a young Japanese-born, British-trained doctor. Rain droplets found their way through the torn canvas roof, and she brushed the moisture off her face. Only the rain, she thought.

* * *

It had been five years since Kisara died. Seto Kaiba marked the anniversary alone in the darkness of his office. He glared at the dueling deck stacked neatly in front of him. With a violent sweep of his arm, the cards went fluttering wildly to the floor. All the time and effort wasted trying to create the perfect dueling system when it could have been used for more important gains. Maybe if he'd used his five-year head start he could have found the cure for her cancer. Perhaps before she'd ever known she was ill. And now his beautiful Dragon lay rotting in the ground. Along with his hopes and his dreams. 

A glint caught his eye. He leaned forward to see what it was. A card. A Blue Eyes White Dragon. His breath caught. Yugi – or whoever had masqueraded as Yugi- had long ago preached about a hidden past - one in which he had been a High Priest and Kisara, the incarnation of his great Blue Eyes. He bent over and picked the card up off of the ground. He felt the sudden inexplicable urge to tear it in two. Then, lovingly, he laid it back down on his desk. After staring at it for what seemed like an eternity, he put his head in his hands and wept.

* * *

The DC-10 completed a flawless landing at Tokyo's Narita International Airport and rolled uneventfully to its gate. Tea gathered her things and made for the exit. She had packed a simple rucksack, as she didn't plan on staying long. The people under her care couldn't spare her. 

The immigration official flipped through her passport searching for an open space to stamp her re-entry into her home nation. He gave her an appraising look. She seemed too young for having traveled so extensively. Tea shrugged.

Once through the security checkpoint she was tackled and almost brought down to the ground by the enthusiastic reception she received.

"Easy there, Joey, Tristan!" she choked out, extricating herself from their smothering grips.

"Sorry there, Tea. It's just been so long!" Joey put her in a headlock and rubbed her hair. She punched him lightly in the side to make him let go. "Damn! Let me take a good look at you."

Tea stood up and unconsciously straightened her one remaining set of good clothes. She knew she was almost unrecognizable. Her hair was long and braided in random places. Her once sleek dancer's physique had hardened into a wiry muscular frame. Her breasts, mostly fat, had shrunk to almost nothing. But her eyes were the most changed. The sparkle had deepened into a womanly empathy that spoke of warmth and of pain.

"You look, uh, you look," Tristan stammered.

"Different," a deep voice said behind her.

Tea spun around and almost fainted. A pair of strong arms held her up. "You – you," she whispered.

"Grew up. It's me, Tea. Yugi." He smiled, and Tea felt again a pull towards unconsciousness. "I guess you think I resemble – him."

"My God... it's like seeing a ghost," she said as she traced a finger on his face.

Yugi caught her hand and cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, we better, ah, get going. I've got a car parked illegally outside. Um, do you have everything?"

Tea nodded dazedly and followed the rest of the crowd out through the doors.

* * *

"Hail! Hail! The gang's all here!" Tristan and Joey raucously sang in the cramped backseat of Yugi's tiny car. 

Tea winced. Yugi leaned over and sympathetically patted her hand.

"Hey! Will you guys knock it off?!" Yugi thundered at the occupants of the backseat. Immediately, there was silence. Tea noticed Yugi had the same authority in his voice that 'he' had demonstrated.

"So, Tea," Joey began. "Tell us what you've been up to in the years you've been away."

Tea turned from staring at Yugi. She realized with a shock that he and Tristan looked exactly the same. Even their hairstyles remained unchanged. "It's a long story, guys."

"We've got time. We won't be at Yugi's place for at least another hour," Tristan replied.

"Probably longer with the way traffic is today," Yugi grumbled.

Tea smiled. "Okay, I'll let you in on the secret that's been my life. Well, you know after high school I went to England to study to become a doctor..."

* * *

"Seto! What on Earth on you doing here?!" Mokuba shot up excitedly from his station in the busy development lab in the heart of the Kaiba Corporation. It had been ages since his beloved big brother had set foot in his once familiar domain. 

Seto slowed slightly so his brother could catch up. It didn't take long. Having grown almost a foot in the last year, Mokuba was almost as tall as he was. He ignored the startled looks his employees gave him. After such a long absence, he hardly recognized anyone nor did he care if he had. Seto palmed open the special lock on the door at the far end of the lab. As the long dimmed lights flared to life, he finally replied, "I've got some unfinished business to take care of."

Mokuba stared slack-jawed as his brother slipped the VR lenses into his eyes and inserted his duel deck into the virtual holder just large enough to hold it. Mokuba snapped back into action and started for the control panels a flight above. "Okay, guys, let's move it! My brother's back, and it looks like he means business!"

* * *

"So while interning in Korea, I met Yong. He was the most caring, loving person I met over there. One night after shooting my mouth off about how Korea wasn't as bad as I had thought it might be, he offered to show me something that might change my mind. I accepted." Tea paused. A moment passed before she continued. "It was awful, guys. The people were too poor to go to a real hospital. A lot of what they did was based on superstition. There were some real bad things going on."

Everyone remained silent when her voice trailed off. When she began again, her voice brightened. "So, I spent my down time helping whoever I could. I never charged anything, but they found ways to pay me anyway. A few items of food here, a pretty trinket there. They had nothing, but they were generous whenever they could. When my internship ended, I promised I would return. Almost a year passed and I did return. Yong was waiting for me when I did."

Something about the tone in her voice made Yugi ask, "You loved him, didn't you?"

Tea looked at him sharply, then cast her eyes downward. "Yeah, I guess. I mean we became, um, lovers. But it wasn't at all the way I felt about – "

"Him." Yugi finished sadly.

Joey and Tristan looked at the two of them uncomfortably. When Tea didn't continue, Joey prompted her by saying, "What happened then?"

Tea sighed. "Yong died. We left Korea shortly after my return. We traveled everywhere, helping the poor, going to refugee camps. He was shot at one trying to smuggle some antibiotics in. There was a flu epidemic. A lot of people were dying, and Yong discovered the colonel in charge of the camp was withholding some of the drugs and selling them off. We were in Indonesia by that time. After that, I left the camp. I wandered around a bit, kinda aimlessly, and ended up in Egypt."

"Egypt!" They all three cried.

Tea smiled. "It's not what you think. Quite by accident, I assure you. Although I did manage to visit Marik and Ishizu while I was there. Even Shadi stopped by to say hi."

"They never told me they saw you there," Yugi said, questioningly.

"That's because I asked them not to. I arrived not too long after your second visit. They said I just missed you. I was gone by the time you returned," she answered. "Anyway, after a time, Marik offered to take me to him, but I wasn't ready. At the last moment, I chickened out. And I've spent the last two years in the rain forest since then. Well, until I received your note, Yugi. How did you find me, by the way?" Tea took out the crumpled note in her pocket.

"Lucky guess," he mumbled, his eyes suddenly focused completely on the road in front of him."

"Yug, come on!" Tristan said. "Tell her the truth."

"He dreamed it. He dreamed you were there," Joey informed her.

Tea stared at Yugi. Was it still possible?


	2. Chapter Two

Lost and Found – Chapter 2

Tea broke the uncomfortable silence by changing the topic. "So, Joey, how's Mai?"

Joey looked up surprised. "Mai? Good, I guess. I don't really see a lot of her other than when we're doing the school thing or the weekend thing."

Tea was confused. "So you went back to college? With Mai?"

Tristan and Yugi laughed. Joey said, "No, Tea, we share custody of our son."

Tea felt someone had dealt her a blow to the head. "YOU have a SON?!"

Joey grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, he's almost six. Can you believe it?"

"He's real cute, too," Tristan added. "He favors his mom."

As the two guys traded insults and pummeled each other, Tea turned to Yugi. "God, I've missed a lot, haven't I?"

Yugi swallowed. "You've been gone a little over ten years, Tea. A lot has changed."

Tea sighed and fiddled with one of her braids. "I guess it had to. Somehow, I don't know, I thought everything would just freeze in time and stay the way it was when we were sixteen. And yet, I was kinda hoping that it would be all different."

She swiveled back towards her two friends. "So, Tristan, what about you? Married?"

"Him?" Joey stuck a thumb in Tristan's direction. "Who'd want to marry him?"

"Shut it, loser," Tristan snapped playfully. "Got plenty of women. I just can't decide which one to make the luckiest girl in the world when she marries me."

Even Tea snorted. "So, you and Serenity didn't work out?"

Tristan abruptly stopped laughing and turned to look out the window. His jaw clenched.

"What did I say now?" Tea asked, a little hurt by her friend's sudden mood change.

Yugi leaned over and quietly said, "Serenity is dating someone else."

"Why?" Tea responded.

"Because, this lug never told her how he felt," Joey said as he crossed his arms against his chest. "One of these days I'M going to do it and spare us all."

Tea couldn't hide her smile and said to Yugi. "Yeah, some things didn't change a bit."

* * *

"What is this crap?" Seta Kaiba said as he angrily threw his card unit across the lab. "What the hell am I paying you people for?"

"Sorry, Seto," Mokuba's voice squeaked through the speakers. "We're still working out some of the bugs."

Kaiba snorted. "Bugs. It doesn't deserve such a glorified name. A better word would be offal."

He spun around and headed out of the lab. "Get this shit working properly or find yourself another job."

Mokuba stared stunned at the closing lab doors below him. At almost twenty years old, he was not going to let his older brother make him cry.

* * *

"So this is it. Back home." Yugi gave a vague wave towards the old gaming store. "Not much has changed. Well, maybe it's a little shabbier since you saw it last."

"It looks great, Yugi," Tea smiled and blinked the unexpected tears away. "Where's your Grandpa?"

Yugi gave her a strange look. "Grandpa died quite a few years back."

The surge of good feeling in her heart became a solid lump in her throat. She laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Yugi. I didn't know."

Yugi smiled. "That's all right. I probably should have told you before now, but it was a difficult thing to write. And then, we didn't get to talk a lot over the last couple of years."

Before she could say anything in reply, he turned and headed towards the front door.

After they were all settled inside and sipping tea, Tea found a moment to ask, "Yugi, are you sure it's okay I crash with you? I don't want to put you out or anything."

His smile brightened, "Nothing would make me happier. I'm a little surprised – I think we're ALL a little surprised – that you didn't choose to stay with your parents."

Tea twined a braid around and around her finger. "They were, uh, out of town."

Yugi frowned. "You didn't tell them you were coming home."

It wasn't a question. Tea didn't respond.

"So, Tea, you wanna hear about the rest of the gang?" Joey began.

Tea sipped on her tea. "Sure."

"Well, don't sound too excited or nuthin'!"

Tea grinned. "Sure, Joey! I would love nothing more than for you to fill me in on every teensiest detail of our friends' lives over the last ten years!"

Joey sat back on the couch. "Well, that's better. Okay, here goes. Um, who should I start with guys?"

"How about Duke Devlin?" Tristan suggested.

"Oh sure, him I know about. Let's see, basically I haven't heard from the guy in a couple of years. He kinda wigged out when his game quit selling and turned really strange. After I while I quit hanging out with him."

Tea arched an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. "Who else? What about Weevil? Didn't you always hate that guy?"

"Oh don't get me started!" Joey punched a hand in his fist. "He gave up duelin' and went into the bug business. He invented some kinda roach killer and made millions. He lives in some fancy-smancy house with a great-lookin' wife and a couple of kids."

Tea looked at Yugi. He smiled and shrugged. Joey began again, "And then there's Rex Raptor. Yeah, that kid turned out to be a big loser. He dropped out of college and ended up working at the fry factory. Hah hah!"

"Hey! I worked at the fry factory 'til last December!" Tristan yelled.

"Aw, but you at least were a manager there. Besides, you hated that job. You only did it until you struck it big," Joey replied.

"You struck it big, Tristan?" Tea asked.

Tristan turned red and wouldn't meet her eyes. Joey punched him on the shoulder. "Yeah, he's a big time artist now! Got his own gallery and everything. Makes all the ladies drool."

"AND he's quite talented, too," Yugi added.

"Enough you guys! Shut up about it!" Tristan cried, thoroughly embarrassed. "It's just something I did as a hobby. Turns out a few people with really lousy taste wanted to buy my stuff. And then some crazy idiot actually let me have gallery space."

Tea leaned over and patted his knee. "I'm sure it's great. I'd really like to see your work sometime."

Tristan turned another shade of red and nodded.

"What about you, Joey? What do you do for a living?" Tea asked.

"Eh, I don't like to talk about it," he said, pouring himself more tea.

Tea turned to Yugi who said, "He's a social worker. He works with children."

"You? I mean, that's great!" Tea smiled her broadest.

Joey shrugged. "Well, somebody's got to look out for the little guys. I mean we don't want them turning out like us. Now do we?"

They all smiled at the joke, but the conversation ended awkwardly.

* * *

"Mokuba! There you are!" Kaiba walked across the crowded bar to the private table his brother was seated at with a couple of girls. "What the hell are you doing in a dive like this?"

"Hey, big bro." Mokuba didn't even glance up from the tall stein of beer he was drinking.

The girls looked nervously up at the elder Kaiba. He glared down at them. "Beat it."

As the women hurriedly made their exit, Kaiba leaned over his younger sibling. "Are you drunk?"

Mokuba waved his hand. "Sure looks that way."

Kaiba shook his head. "Why?"

Mokuba looked up at him with bleary eyes. "Maybe because I'm such a goddamn failure. Maybe this is the only thing I can do that I'm good at. Now that I'm unemployed and all."

Taking a seat, Kaiba regarded his brother closely. "Who said anything about being unemployed. Last I heard, you still worked for the Kaiba Corporation. For me."

Mokuba shrugged. "Yeah, but I couldn't fix that VR unit. I can't get the bugs out. It's not working. So, I'm not working. God, I'm such a failure." His head slumped forward to touch the table.

"Get up. Get up right now before you embarrass yourself or me any further. This is no way for a Kaiba to act," Kaiba said, getting angry.

Mokuba slapped his brother's hand away. "Well, maybe I don't wanna be a goddamned Kaiba anymore. Maybe I wanna be my own person. Maybe I just wanna be left alone. Like you. Left all alone."

Kaiba sat back and briefly closed his eyes. "Is that what you want? I mean, is it really? To waste your life away all alone?"

"Works for you, doesn't it, big bro?" Mokuba slurred. "After SHE died, you just wanted to crawl up in your hole and shut out the rest of us. Me, Yugi, your friends. Well, I hate to break it to you, bro, but she left all of us. Not just you. But, some of us had to a company to run when you bailed. We didn't have the luxury of just up and quitting."

Kaiba blinked and started to say something but Mokuba continued, "And then you just show up one day out of the blue and start bossing everybody around. You go back into that godforsaken gaming lab just like you never left. Well sorry, boss, but we're not into gaming anymore. We have more important things to concentrate on. Hell, it's shit you ordered us to work on years ago. We've been going a million miles an hour, hardly sleeping, and now you want to go back to playing games?! Sorry, big bro, as an ex-employee of the Kaiba Corporation and your sorry ass excuse of a little brother, I now have the pleasure of saying to you – go fuck yourself."

Kaiba was silent a moment. "Are you finished making your little speech? All out of your system?"

Mokuba shrugged and nodded. Kaiba grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "Good, cause we're leaving."

Mokuba tried to fight him. "Get your hands off me. I said I don't work for you anymore."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Now get going."

The bartender frowned over at them, but decided not to interfere. "Where are we going?" Mokuba asked, as he was half carried out of the bar.

"You – are going on a vacation." Kaiba answered.

* * *

Tea was placing the few things from her rucksack into the dresser. Everything fit into one drawer. "You packed light," a deep voice called from the doorway.

Tea jumped. "Yeah, I don't own much. Besides, I don't know how long I can stay."

Yugi bowed his head. "Not long, I guess."

Tea was silent a moment. "Yugi, one of the things I came back here for. Well, I mean, I guess I should say one of the 'people' I came back here for --- is you."

Yugi crossed the room and sat on the bed. "I was hoping you would say that. Was it because of my letter?"

Tea sat down next to him. "Well, that, and I know we have a lot of unfinished business. I don't think either of us actually fully dealt with what happened a long time ago. Yong, you see –"

"Yong?" Yugi interrupted. He didn't see how her dead lover had anything to do with them.

"Yeah, Yong helped me to realize a lot of things before he died. He made me see that this whole life I created for myself was just a way for me to escape dealing with my past."

Yugi swallowed. "So, you've come home to, uh, deal with it?"

"Yeah," Tea whispered, staring down at the floor and playing with her braids.

Yugi took her hand. "Are you scared?"

Tea nodded. Yugi folded her across his chest and held her tightly. "So am I."


	3. Chapter Three

Lost and Found – Chapter Three

Mokuba stumbled into the breakfast room of the Kaiba mansion and threw himself into a chair. He propped his head up with one hand, and with the other, he dug into his eggs. Kaiba folded his newspaper and set it down.

"Sober this morning?" Kaiba asked.

Mokuba grunted affirmation and lamely bobbed his head.

"Good. Because you're getting on a plane in an hour."

Mokuba's fork clattered to his plate. "Where are we going?"

Kaiba smiled. "You, as I said last night, are long overdue for a vacation."

"You're serious," Mokuba said, clearly unconvinced.

"You think that during my five year absence I've been blind to what you've been doing with my company? You're wrong. I know precisely what you've been up to," Kaiba said, steepling his fingers.

Mokuba held his breath. Kaiba continued, "And I'm proud of you."

Mokuba's face almost fell into his breakfast. "You're proud of me?"

"Of course," he said. "I know how hard you've been working. And I know I shouldn't have interrupted you yesterday with my barging in and barking orders like that."

Mokuba started to interrupt, but Kaiba held up a hand. "Let me finish. Since Kisara died, I've shut myself off from everything and everyone. Including you. You were absolutely right about that. But, no longer. I intend on going back to work right away."

"You're resuming control over Kaiba Corp's operations?" Mokuba asked.

"No exactly," Kaiba answered. "You will still retain majority control. I intend on reopening the gaming divisions."

"You what?!" Mokuba cried although he half expected as much after yesterday's incident.

Kaiba arched an eyebrow. "It is still MY company, Mokuba. I think I should be able to do with it what I want, don't you think?"

Mokuba nodded. "But, Seto, why? You've shown no interest in dueling for years. I thought you had retired."

Kaiba shrugged. "I had. But I retired before I was on top."

"But after Yugi stopped dueling, you were universally acknowledged as the world's greatest duelist. I thought that was enough for you," Mokuba questioned.

Kaiba stood up and went to a window. It was a beautiful morning. "No, never 'enough.' A temporary holding point. True, with Yugi's ersatz retirement after that dreadful mess in Egypt, I was made the world champion by default. But, it wasn't a true victory - or a true defeat. And when Kisara became ill, nothing in the world mattered more than restoring her health. But, that ended five years ago. And so I withdrew from the world, leaving you to run the company."

Mokuba waited patiently for his brother to continue. "Mokuba, you've done a supreme job. The company's stocks are at an all-time high. We can't fulfill all of the orders we have in house. Our brand name is globally acknowledged as the finest and most superior. I couldn't have done it better.

Mokuba puffed up with pride. "So, why are you sending me away?"

"Because you work too hard. Kisara was always on me about that. She said you were going to turn out too much like me," he smiled and looked away. "She was always saying things like that. And I let her down. But, I'm going to make up for it. Last night, I made some phone calls. As of right now, all operative power has been transferred to the senior executive presidents of each division until I say otherwise. No one is to call you, email you, contact you, or bother you in any way while you're gone. Unless, of course, it's me."

"So, uh, where are you sending me?" Mokuba cocked his head to one side.

"You'll see," Kaiba smirked. "You're all packed, but you better get going."

"Wait! One more thing. What are you going to do with the gaming division?" Mokuba asked as the limo driver paused in the doorway.

"I'm going to issue a new version of the Duel Monsters dueling game. I'm going to regain my true place at the top. And not by some crappy default," Kaiba stated.

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'm going after the God cards. All of them," he answered as he escorted his little brother out the door.

Mokuba froze as he was climbing into the backseat. "But, Seto! They're destroyed! Back in Egypt!"

Kaiba placed a hand on Mokuba's shoulder and gave him a gentle shove into the car. "Have fun, little bro. Don't call or write."

"But, Seto!"

* * *

"So what are you going to order, Mai?" Serenity asked her best friend.

"I don't know. What about you, Tea?" Mai asked in return.

"Hmm, what?" Tea asked, startled.

"Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?" Mai asked, amused.

"I'm sorry, guys. I'm still kinda shell-shocked." Tea shrugged and read over her menu for the hundredth time. "I guess I'll have the garden salad with low-fat dressing."

"Like you need it, honey," Mai replied. "I mean, have you looked at yourself recently? Good Lord, I wouldn't have known it was you."

"Yeah, Tea, you look completely different. But I'm definitely loving the hair," Serenity added.

"You look different, too, Serenity. Your hair is so short! It looks a lot like how I used to wear mine," Tea said, playing with a braid.

Serenity ran a self-conscious hand through her shorn locks. "Yeah, I needed a change. Mai convinced me it was the right thing to do. But, I admit I cried for days afterwards. I think Joey cried, too."

"That ninny would," Mai snorted.

"What did Tristan think of it?" Tea not-so-innocently asked.

Serenity blushed. "I don't know. He didn't say anything about it."

Ah-ha! Tea thought. So she does have feelings for him!

Mai leaned over and conspiratorially said, "So, Tea, you've heard Tristan's a big time artist these days? Have you checked out his gallery?"

Tea smiled. "Why no, Mai, I haven't."

Mai leaned closer to her son's aunt. "Serenity, maybe you should take Tea over there later. What do you think?

Serenity sat upright. "Oh! Today? I've got to meet Jason later. Butâ€."

Tea took her hand. "Oh please, Serenity! I'm dying to go."

Mai winked at her, then looked over at Serenity and arched an eyebrow, waiting to see how the girl would respond. Serenity debated it for a moment. "Okay! Sure! I mean Jason will understand. How often do I get a chance to hang out with you, Tea?"

"About as often as the rest of us, girl. Which brings up an interesting subject? Where the hell have you been hiding, Tea? Under a rock?" Mai asked.

Tea laughed. "Close. How about in a jungle?"

"Oh do tell!" The girls chimed simultaneously.

* * *

Tea and Serenity walked side by side down the walk in the direction of Tristan's gallery.

"So, Serenity, you and Mai remained close, huh?" Tea began.

Serenity smiled broadly. "She's my best friend, as dear to me as any real sister could be."

"But what about her and Joey? What happened there?" Tea asked, full of love and concern for her star-crossed friends.

Serenity sighed. "I don't know, Tea. Those two seem to make everything so complicated. You can tell they really love each other, but they're both so stubborn sometimes! Except, of course, where my nephew is concerned. He's the only thing they ever agree on."

Tea nodded. "Do you think they'll ever find their way back to one another?"

Before Serenity could answer, a long limo pulled up to the curb next to them. The girls stopped, curious to see who it was.

"Holy crap! Is that you, Tea?!" Mokuba's head poked out of the window as he rolled it down. "Oh, hey, Serenity."

Serenity giggled and waved. Tea's eyes were as wide with shock as were Mokuba's. "Hey, you're not a little kid anymore!"

Mokuba looked her up and down and laughed. "Neither are you! When did you come back to Tokyo?"

Tea blushed. "Yesterday."

"And how long are you staying?" Mokuba grinned.

Tea reached for a braid. "I don't know. Not long."

At her answer, Mokuba's face fell. "No way! You've got to stick around until I get back from vacation. I want to hear all about your life. I hate to admit it, but we lost track of you about two years ago. You showing up here is kinda like a miracle!"

Tea cocked her head to one side. "We?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Yeah, me and Seto. Not to mention Yugi and the gang."

Tea was about to ask a question when the limo driver interrupted Mokuba with a warning that he would be late. Mokuba sighed. "Hey, I gotta go. Seto's sending me on vacation, and I have no idea when I'll get back. Promise me we'll have lunch when I do."

Tea frowned, but nodded. As Mokuba drove off, she turned to Serenity. "Kaiba was keeping tabs on me? Why?"

Serenity shook her head. "I don't know. We all wanted to know you were okay. Maybe Kaiba was doing it as a favor to Yugi."

Tea remembered Joey's comments that Yugi had known where she was from his dreams. She was about to ask Serenity about it when her friend said, "Poor Mokuba. I'm glad he's getting out of here."

Tea asked, "Why's that?"

Serenity resumed her walk towards Tristan's. "Kaiba works him too hard. Most of the time, he's the same sweet smiling kid he was all those years ago. But, he doesn't have it in him really to be the cold master of Kaiba Corp. Joey tells me the kid has taken up drinking when the pressure gets too much. It's usually worst around the anniversary of Kaiba's wife's death. Yugi's tried talking to him before about itâ€."

Tea stopped dead in her tracks. Serenity paused and wondered at her friend's shocked expression. "Kaiba was married?!"

Serenity nodded. "Yeah, to Kisara."

Tea tried to think back. "Wait! Wasn't she that girl with the white hair? The one who was the incarnation of the Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

"Yeah," Serenity replied. "She died about five years ago. Cancer. Kaiba gave up running the company after that. He just sort of disappeared. We found out through Mokuba he holed himself up at his mansion, but he refused to see anyone. Even Yugi. Except for when he was dedicating a new hospital wing or cancer center."

"Poor guy," Tea said, a sympathetic pain rising in her chest.

"The sad thing is, he tried everything he could to save her. He cancelled all his gaming divisions, including Duel Monsters, if you can believe it, and funneled all the money into cancer research. They now lead the world in finding a cure," Serenity informed her friend.

Tea started walking again, trying to absorb all of this new information. "So, Kaiba's a good guy now?"

"Do you think he was ever really bad? Anyway, if Mokuba's going on vacation on his brother's orders, maybe there's a change brewing at Kaiba Corp," Serenity postulated. "Hey! There's Tristan's gallery! Come on!"


End file.
